Sunday, June 15, 2014

Emperor Yongle: Usurper and Builder

He was an
Emperor that thought large. He had high ambition which drove him to power.
After power was his, he continued to think big; and he was determine to realize
it. From his dark rise came an open and majestic China. A China that that had a
new imperial capital and a new splendor for its rulers and officials to enjoy.
A China that stretched its reaches as far as Africa. This was the reign of
Emperor Yongle.

Emperor Yongle (1360-1424) was the Ming Emperor from 1402 to 1424. Yongle was
born as Zhudi. Zhudi was the fourth son of Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the
Ming Dynasty. He received good education. But he practically excelled well in
military affairs. During his time as Prince he was sent by the Emperor to the
north to watch over the borders against marauding Mongols.

In 1398,
Emperor Hongwu died. The throne fell to his grandson, Prince Yunwen. Pince
Yunwen took the reign name Jianwen. Emperor Jianwen was still in active years.
He proved to be energetic. He wanted to carry out reforms in order to
strengthen the central government. This could have been his greatest mistake.
Because of his planned reforms, many aristocracy who have semi-autonomous
status were threatened to lose their control. Because of this, many noble were
threatened.

Zhudi
exploited this concern. He was an ambitious man. He wanted not just to be a
mere prince and uncle of the Emperor. He wanted to be the Emperor himself. And
so in 1399 he rose up to arms against the Emperor. A civil war began. Sadly for
Emperor Jianwen, he lost the war in 1402 when the Ming capital, Nanjing fell in
Zhudi’s hands. A fire erupted in the imperial palace. But as the flames died
down, Emperor Jianwen was missing, his fate was unknown. Besides the
disappearance of Emperor Jianwen, a new Emperor rose, Zhudi usurped the throne as
Emperor Yongle or Perpetual Happiness.

The first
years of Yongle’s reign were bloody. To secure the throne, he had his opponents
within the imperial family executed. Next to the imperial family, he launched a
purge of government officials loyal to the late Emperor. He also ordered the
clearing of records of Emperor Jianwen’s reign. It would take a year to ease
his purges.

In 1403,
he launched a major intellectual project. He ordered a creation of an
encyclopedia. He commissioned more than 2,000 scholars to work on the project.
They were to compile and record knowledge about various fields, from the
sciences, to medicine, to history, and most importantly Confucianism. When the
Yongle Encyclopedia was finished in 1407, it was in epic proportions. In was
composed of 11,095 volumes and 917,480 pages. All were painstakingly hand
written.

To make a
true fresh start, Emperor Yongle decided to move his capital. He chose a
location that close to his heart – Beijing. It was in Beijing where he stayed
when he posted to the north and guard the northern frontiers. He ordered the
creation of an Imperial City within the city. It was to serve as residence of
government officials and their family. And at the center of the Imperial City,
another city was also to be constructed, the Forbidden City.

The
Forbidden City was to be one of his greatest legacy. Completed in 1421, its
construction was a matter of prestige as well as recognition. It was to show
the great power he wielded. Also, it was a way to redeem himself from his
usurpation of the throne. He wanted to create a heaven in earth. A city palace
that was perfect harmony in Feng Shui terms.

The
moving of the capital was not easy however. The whole city was in a cold
desolate place. Food must be brought via the Grand Canal from the south. It was
also 40 km away from the Great Wall of China, thus, it was it great risk. But
Yongle was persistent. He wanted firmly to move his capital. In 1406,
constructions of his specifications began.

As part
of the effort to move the capital, Emperor Yongle ordered the renovation and
expansion of the Grand Canal. The Grand Canal was vital in supplying food to
Beijing from the agricultural south. It was also important to bring
construction materials into the new capital city. New dikes and hydraulics
systems were placed in order to make the canal more efficient.

Meanwhile,
Yongle made efforts to make his government efficient. He created a committee
that would be known as the Grand Secretaries. It was to be composed of seven
competent and trustworthy officials. During the first appointments, Yongle
placed officials which came from the prestigious Confucian school of Hanlin.
Appointment to the post of Grand Secretaries was a lifetime job, which would
provide security of tenure and result to a more efficient and continuous work.

Although
Yongle gave jobs to civil service passers, his reign saw heavy reliance on
palace servants or Eunuchs. Eunuch were castrated male servants of the Emperor.
Yongle trusted them not just with his wives but also with different affairs.
Because of their castration, Eunuchs were less susceptible of corruption
because they won’t have any sons to pass wealth to. Several Eunuchs rose to
prominence because of Yongle. First was Nguyen An, he was a Vietnamese slave
made into a Eunuch. He was responsible for the renovation and expansion of the
Grand Canal. But he was more famous for his marvelous work - the Forbidden
City. Another great Eunuch that Yongle promoted was the famous Zheng He.

Zheng He
was trusted by the Emperor very much. He was first sent in 1409 in Yunnan
Province to crush a small rebellion. Later, he was to be appointed to supervise
the construction of an armada. The armada was the largest of its kind during
that time. Its treasure ships were enormous compared to their counterparts in
Europe or anywhere else. The largest of the ships sized 385 x 440 ft. in
length. It height was 150 x 180 ft. After the construction of the fleet, he was
placed to command it and expand the reaches of the Empire. Seven voyages would
be commanded by Zheng He. It brought him to Southeast Asia, then to the Indian
Ocean, and reach as far as East Africa. Legends and speculations even pushed it
further up to America, creating theories that Zheng He first discovered the New
World.

There
were various reasons for the expeditions. According to Ming annals it was an
investigating team that was to go to Southeast Asia to check the rumors of the
said whereabouts of the late Emperor Jianwen. It was also a way to further
cement his legitimacy by increasing the number tributary states that recognize
him as Emperor.

Yongle’s
military exploits made justice of his victories in the Civil War. In 1407, he
ordered the annexation of Tonkin in modern day Vietnam. However, the invasion
was unwelcomed by the natives. A bitter guerrilla insurgency ensued
and would continue for decades. Much of Yongle’s military campaigns,
however, would focus in the north. Securing the northern border was a key to
secure Beijing, the new capital. Yongle would personally lead 5 expeditions
against the marauding Mongols: in 1410, 1414, 1422, 1423, and 1424. Some were
successful and did not even faced combat.

The 1424
expedition was last of his military campaigns. On that same year, Emperor
Yongle, the third Ming Emperor passed away. He was succeeded by his son that
took the reign name Hongxi.

Yongle was one of the most controversial but famous emperor. Although he
started as a ruthless usurper of the throne, he worked hard for his Empire. His
legacy could be seen from the monuments that he erected. If it was not because
of him, the modern world would not have the opulence that is the Forbidden
City. It was also he who expanded the knowledge of China about the great
expanse of the world through the voyages of Zheng He. Emperor Yongle would
continue to be remembered and criticized for his deeds.

Chase, K. Firearms:
A Global History to 1700. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Perkins, D. Encyclopedia of China: An Essential Reference to
China, Its History and Culture. New York: Routledge, 2013. Tsai, S.H. The Eunuchsin the Ming Dynasty. New York: State University of New York Press, 1996. Roberts, J. The
History of China. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.